Ted King climbed carefully into a Cannondale team car after the end of stage 2 of the Tour de France, covered in bandages and clearly in pain after his crash at the end of stage 1. Despite the pain and suffering of racing stage 2 through the Corsican mountains, he was relieved and even happy to have made it through the stage.

His Tour de France looked like it was over on day one after crashing hard on his right shoulder. But he dug deep and fought the pain to reach the finish safely in the gruppetto. King finished 167th, 17:35 behind stage winner Jan Bakelants (Radioshack-Leopard), in the same time as yellow jersey wearer Marcel Kittel, sprinters Mark Cavendish and Nacer Bouhanni, and fellow crash victims Tony Martin and Geraint Thomas.

"I'm pleased I've gotten through today. It was a relatively short stage. It was going to be a test for my shoulder but I got through it," King told Cyclingnews after easing into the front seat of the team car.

"We went 'not easy' on the climb half way through the stage. Fortunately my legs are great, it’s the body that's taken its toll. The road rash is one thing, I can handle that. But it's the shoulder that the problem."

In the hope the pain eases and his injuries begin to heal, King's strategy for the next few days is simple and wise. "I've got to take things one day at a time," he said.

After finishing stage 2, he has earned the right to fight on, during Monday's third stage to Calvi.